Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has pledged to embrace Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatists, expressing his will to build a bridge between the group and the government by involving them in the provincial development.

Enembe said that he would continue to hold discussions with OPM members to find out their demands.

“I have yet to meet them in person, but I keep in contact with the group. They are our brothers,” Enembe said, adding that they wanted to be listened to and understood.

“If some of the members want to go to school, we will send them to school. If they want to run a business, we can provide training and loans so they can start their business,” he continued.

Enembe said that the Papua Liberation Army Front (TPN)/OPM leader Goliat Tabuni had given him a call and asked him to develop Tabuni’s village.

Good communication between the parties, Enembe said, would build mutual understanding and therefore it would be easier for the separatists to accept the government’s development programs.

Enembe called on all regents in the province to take a peaceful approach by holding dialogue with the separatists. He also urged the central government to disburse more funds for the province’s development since Papua could not rely only on the provincial budget.

Papua has an annual budget of more than Rp 40 trillion (US$4.16 billion), the seventh-largest budget in the country.

The Jaringan Damai Papua (JDP/Papua Peace Network), led by Catholic priest Neles Tebay who won the 2013 Tji Haksoon Justice and Peace award, is currently struggling to make such Jakarta-Papua dialogue happen. The globally-recognized Papua Peace Network has organized several rounds of negotiations between the separatists and the government.